Wednesday, 1 May 2013

A Murder Is Announced by Agatha Christie. The Haymarket Theatre, Basingstoke. 28th February 2013.

Agatha Christie has managed to stay popular despite her
anachronistic English village domain. Audiences and readers still adore her
labyrinthine plots. Ian Dickens’ touring production of ‘A Murder Is Announced’
is the latest adaptation.

From the outset it is unmistakably the nineteen fifties and
to be more precise, 1953. A notice appears in the Chipping Cleghorn Gazette
stating rather oddly ‘A murder is announced and will take place… at Little Paddocks
at 6.30pm’. This soon fires the curiosity of the villagers and Jane Marples.
All gather at Little Paddocks, the home of Letitia Blacklock. At 6.30
precisely, the lights go out, someone fires a gun, and a murder has occurred.

A fitting introduction to an ingenious spider’s web of
deceit and plot twists. Just when you think you have cracked it, there is
another startling revelation to add to the complexity. Sadly, when it gets to
this point, exposition too often gets in the way of dramatic tension. On a few
occasions, there were forced efforts to get through as much dialogue as
possible to clarify the narrative.

Despite this minor hurdle, all the actors worked well
together. Of particular note were Katy Manning as Letitia Blacklock and John D
Collins as Inspector Craddock. Both dominated the stage with dramatic presence.
Geraldine Newman probably had the most challenging task in bringing anything
fresh to the role of Miss Marples. As a result
she was so often overshadowed.

A functional stage set convincingly recreates the period
detail as did the musical extracts –
‘Knightsbridge March’, ‘Sleepy Lagoon’, ‘The Marching Strings’ and ‘Barwick
Green’ – all quintessentially English pieces.

As one would expect from Christie the plot is ingenious and
taut. Moreover, despite its focus on death, it is also witty, extremely
gripping, and satisfyingly entertaining. It left the majority of audience
guessing to the end. We see very little of this kind of work since the demise
of ‘rep’. The fact that this house was full and the production is selling out
demonstrates that there is a demand for these popular plays. I hope that we
will see similar in the future.

From Agatha Christie’s Novel.

Directed by Ian Dickens and David North | Stage adaptation
by Leslie Darbon

Brought to the stage by Ian Dickens Productions

Reviewed at The Haymarket Theatre, Basingstoke
part of Anvil Arts for The Flaneur